I thought, "This is going to be worse than I anticipated." So, I threw my expectations out into the 5" of snow and just got on with it. As you know, I was planning on doing 12 miles - the first two miles are the run from my house to the lakes we run around. With the snow, the dog needing to go out, me pissing around and the fact F had an 8:00 AM basketball game (who schedules that on a Saturday morning?) I decided to drive. None of the roads were plowed yet and it was a little on the treacherous side, even by my standards. I parked at our usual meeting place and waited for the rest of the group. Everyone was late - only because they couldn't get up this one, damn hill. My route brings me down the hill to where we park, their route brings them up the hill. MS backed her car onto the trail at the base of the hill, completely off the road, and gunned it up the hill. LF struggled a little more. She was angry at her car and wasn't in her right mind. MS hopped in, backed it onto the trail, again, and gunned it up the hill. An inauspicious start to a run for which I was trying to have no expectations. We ended up starting about a half hour later than usual, but we got to run a good portion in daylight. It is refreshing to be finishing our runs now with at least a little sun in our faces. And the whole thing wasn't so bad after all. Our pace was good and the trails were in good shape with not much "secret ice" (glare ice hidden by the snow) so no enraging "startle effect". It always amazes us that at 5:30 AM the running/bike trails are neatly plowed, while all the streets are still choked with snow. I think the Minneapolis Parks Dept. should perhaps run the Minneapolis Transportation Dept. as well. Total 10.34 miles. Right on our training schedule. We all felt good about our time, although we might not feel good about our hips, knees and calves, but that is what ibuprofen is for - or Vicodin.
No comments:
Post a Comment